KENTWOOD, Mich. — Inside Kentwood's Woodland Mall, hundreds cheered as West Michigan's very first LEGO Store opened its doors.
The ribbon was cut at 11 a.m. on Friday.
"I've just been dying for an actual LEGO Store to come to Grand Rapids," said Michael Canfield.
He had been waiting in line for at least 2 hours before the grand opening, and he wasn't the only one.
George Tijerina, the store's manager, said about 20 people were already standing in line when he arrived around 6 a.m., and by 8 a.m., the line had already wrapped around and begun to head towards the other side of the mall.
Families, groups of friends and individual LEGO lovers made their way in, each receiving a commemorative LEGO piece, as they began to search for the LEGO sets their hearts desired.
"My daughter collects the flowers, so I got a couple of the flowers for her, and then Star Wars, because I do all of the like robots for Star Wars," said Christina Raymor who drove in from Greenville. "We love our Harry Potter sets."
"Super excited to have it in West Michigan, so we don't have to drive to Detroit and Columbus and Indianapolis to go to a store," said Jason Jipting.
Jipting bought a large Gotham City Set to go into his office and said he got into building LEGO sets during the pandemic.
"My daughter bought me one set, and that was it. Now, it's just a real problem," Jipting laughed.
One detail was for certain, and that was that love for LEGO is not based on age, with entire families, from young children to grandparents, all eager to get their hands on their own LEGO sets.
"It really speaks to the brand's ability to inspire the builders of tomorrow to see all the different age ranges that we are able to capture their attention, from the young to the old," said Store Manager George Tijerina. "It's just amazing what we've been able to do as a company."
Those who waited hours in line said the experience can't be replicated by simply shopping online.
"We're in it together," said Palmer White.
White was waiting in line with his young son, who he said inherited his love for LEGO.
"Having [the LEGO Store] right here is gonna make it super accessible and not just something through a computer screen. When we're looking at new stuff, we can come and see it and see them built, and have little fun days as we come out," said White.
The grand opening celebration will continue through Sunday, Aug. 18, with different promotions and gifts available each day for customers.